There's a kind of magic in people coming together. As we chat, make connections, find areas of mutual interest and drink coffee together, it's amazing how often new ideas, projects and opportunities emerge.
As we've all been spending time closer to home over the past 18 months, I've been more aware than ever of the brilliant community of arts- and charity-sector people in and around Linlithgow. Some of us live and work here, others - like me, have typically been commuting to work elsewhere, but are now working from home. It seemed a good time to start to make and build our connections to one another, and so I suggested we try a monthly meet-up for Linlithgow's arts and charity folk. We met for the first time in Spring 2021, and have been meeting month since then.
For our spring / summer meetings we've been meeting by the loch (it's lovely to sit outdoors together in the sun), and through the colder months we've moved indoors to the new EH49 Hub. Each month, we've been joined by people working in - and leading - local charities, those running creative organisations, people working to strengthen our local community organisations, and artists creating all kinds of work professionally and for pleasure. And often some gorgeous dogs, too.
For an hour or so, we chat about our interests, connections and projects, make lots of recommendations ('you should definitely meet X, or come along to Y'), talk about the rhythms and challenges of working independently, and share some hopes and ideas for projects we'd like to see in our town. I suspect more than a few of us had pre-meeting nerves the first time we came along, but it's a warm and friendly group, with space for those who prefer to sit on the sidelines and listen, as well as those keen to chat.
Our next confirmed meeting dates for 2022 are below (all 10.30-11.30am). For details (including where to meet - we'll drop you an email the week before each meeting), sign up here.
Friday 9th September
Later dates TBC